u/GreenGloober

I currently use a draw string bag as a everyday bag when traveling, since my main bag is 5 lbs empty.

I would guess I carry maybe 3-5 lbs in the bag throughout the day with an occasional quick grocery run that might make double that weight for a short amount of time.

I have worn it all day, 6+ hours and the strings personally never really bothered me surprisingly.

I almost don't want to try to find an alternative, but I can already see the threads on this bag starting to come apart after short use

My main thing is I am hoping I can find another bag that can fold flat like this one was can be carried in a pocket. Most of the ones I've found all compress more into a small cylinder shape.

Hello

I'll be traveling in Bern, Switzerland and was hoping to receive some packages from Amazon.de.

From what I have read, within the last year or so, Amazon.de has made it a lot easier to ship/receive packages in Switzerland. I've seen mentions of using mypost24 to receive amazon packages. However, from what I could tell, it seems like you need to be a permanent swiss resident to create an account and receive packages there?

I've contacted my hotel to see if they might allow me to have packages sent there, but just wanted to see some other possible alternatives as well in case they don't allow it.

In Portugal, I've read that they want to physically check the VAT refund items, so if you have it in your check in (IE wine), you need to get the tags from your airline and then bring your check in with you after security checks and then drop it off with customs then and there.

My question is, after the airline initially weighs it, I'm guessing there's no way they will know if it is slightly overweight after the fact or not?

I'm most likely going to be within the weight limits, but just something I was thinking of in case I wanted to add more padding to my bottles

I will be traveling in the UK and wanted to buy some items from ebay.co.uk.

Typically I would try to pick up in person, but that ends up limiting my options, since I would have to find a seller that's relatively close to where I'll be staying or traveling to/from along the way.

I am looking for suggestions on companies I can search up online or maybe some key words to use as a starting point to see if there are any in the areas that I'll be staying in.

Ones I've found from searching is

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/mail/poste-restante

https://www.ukpostbox.com/address/uk-parcel-address

and mentions of collection points, but no specific company or website to find more info on this at?

I will be traveling in the UK and wanted to buy some items from ebay.co.uk.

Typically I would try to pick up in person, but that ends up limiting my options, since I would have to find a seller that's relatively close to where I'll be staying or traveling to/from along the way.

I am looking for suggestions on companies I can search up online or maybe some key words to use as a starting point to see if there are any in the areas that I'll be staying in.

Ones I've found from searching is

https://www.postoffice.co.uk/mail/poste-restante

https://www.ukpostbox.com/address/uk-parcel-address

and mentions of collection points, but no specific company or website to find more info on this at?

It's been a while since I had to claim a VAT refund and I don't remember having to show the physical item before. However, from what I have read, when flying out of Porto, you need to go to the duty free and physically show them the items.

Typically when I pack my bottles of alcohol for check in, I seal them up in a vacuum seal bag with padding around them. I am trying to see how well I can/should package them ahead of time or if I shouldn't bother until after they check it. I was thinking maybe I can vacuum seal them but have the labels showing so it can be seen, but if I have to take it out of the bags, then it would be a moot point anyways.

I know YMMV, but just wanted to get feedback on those who have experienced the vat refund process with their items in general and specifically wine if possible.

Any additional tips/info would be appreciated as well.

Will be traveling through UK, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.

I wanted to pick up some knipex tools while I am over there. Looking for suggestions on what the best places/country might be to try and keep an eye out for them at and other brands I might consider such as wera and wiho.

Are there any tool stores that have tax free or have VAT refunds?

The only store I have lined up right now is visiting a Bauhaus while in Germany. Seems like Amazon.de might have the best prices, but the timing with the shipping and seeing if the hotel is willing to receive packages might be tricky. Maybe they have Amazon lockers over there that I could ship the packages to and pick up?

I know this question may be largely subjective and the savings aren't huge, but it'd be fun to check out some tool stores along the way, so I might as well pick up somethings while I am there.

Will be traveling through UK, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.

I wanted to pick up some knipex tools while I am over there. Looking for suggestions on what the best places/country might be to try and keep an eye out for them at and other brands I might consider such as wera and wiho.

Are there any tool stores that have tax free or have VAT refunds?

The only store I have lined up right now is visiting a Bauhaus while in Germany. Seems like Amazon.de might have the best prices, but the timing with the shipping and seeing if the hotel is willing to receive packages might be tricky. Maybe they have Amazon lockers over there that I could ship the packages to and pick up?

I know this question may be largely subjective and the savings aren't huge, but it'd be fun to check out some tool stores along the way, so I might as well pick up somethings while I am there.

I was originally hoping to book train tickets for this coming Monday to go from Lisbon aiport to Porto or more specifically Vila nova de gaia. However, it seems like most of the trains leaving around by the time I'll get out of the airport have already sold out.

With an unknown amount of time it may take to get out of the airport, it's a bit tricky trying to figure out which bus/train time I can safely book in advance.

I went ahead and bought a train ticket through cp.pt, since seems like I can get a full refund for the ticket if I cancel it at least 15 mins before the departure time. This way I at least guarantee I have a way of getting to Porto.

My alternative option is trying to take an earlier bus departure time from Lisbon Oriente/Airport, but it seems like the refund/ticket change options for bus is much more limited.

My question is, are the all of the ticket booths for the buses/trains next to each other at the same place at Oriente? That way I can easily check each one once I am there to see if any of them have available space left.

Although looking at the available seats right now, it seems like there are only a handful of available seats left on the buses even, so it might not even be available by the time Monday comes.

I didn't realize that there was a 20 person referral limit and I accidentally hit mine too soon before I would be able to use them all.

I read that I can create a new email account and that would work. However, after creating a new account, I don't see an option for referral code/tab on the app.

Am I just missing something or is it simply not possible? It seems like people say you can use a 50% off code from other users, but trying it in the app, it doesn't seem like that actually works?

Thanks in advance to anyone who uses this.

Trying to see if anyone else brings a mini massage gun for trips that involve a lot of walking and soreness you may get in your legs, feet and/or back if you are carrying a backpack.

I was thinking of getting one of those generic mini massage guns that is roughly the size of your palm.

The only thing is they are fairly heavy for what they are, due to battery/motor. Only half a pound, but it all adds up.

Anyone have one of these? Are they even that effective considering how small they are?

Any suggestions on possible alternatives other than just regularly stretching every day?

Trying to see if anyone else brings a mini massage gun for trips that involve a lot of walking and soreness you may get in your legs, feet and/or back if you are carrying a backpack.

I was thinking of getting one of those generic mini massage guns that is roughly the size of your palm.

The only thing is they are fairly heavy for what they are, due to battery/motor. Only half a pound, but it all adds up.

Anyone have one of these? Are they even that effective considering how small they are?

I have half a day in Brussels near grand place. Looking for suggestion on quick eats and things to do. I get in around 7pm and leave the next day around 2pm, so I prefer to stick to things that are within a short walking distance.

I do see that there are a lot of food and shops around the area in general, but just trying to see if there are any suggestions people might have to narrow things down a bit.

Only thing I know I want to check out so far is the diecast store that's next to centraal station and maybe check out Galerie Bortier for food on the night of our arrival to the hotel.

I am planning a trip around a friend's destination wedding. The wedding will only be one day in between my overall month long trip in Europe. It is only one day to me, but I know it is a important one day for them.

Trying to figure out some ideas or thoughts from others on what to do. I can simply bring my dress shoes, suit jacket, dress shirt, and slacks. However, the main thing is the bulk/weight of the shoes and then keeping the suit jacket from wrinkling up, etc.

Alternatively, I was thinking of maybe buying some cheap/thrift shoes and jacket once there and then donating/tossing it after the wedding is over.

I was thinking of getting a pair of gen 1 meta glasses and was looking at used prices, since I didn't want to spend too much to try them out.

However, I noticed that for some reason, the used prices are the same price or sometimes even slightly more than new prices. Has anyone else noticed this?

Gen 2 is the only one that is slightly cheaper than new, so I might try to find a used gen 2 instead.

Any tips on what to check for when buying a used gen 2?

Looking to see if anyone out there uses a selfie stick tripod with their MFT camera. I am a casual photographer and bought the MFT for its compact portability. I want to pair it with a also compact/lightweight tripod for the times that I do need it, which is not often, but I like to have the option available.

I realize a lot of people may have negative things against using something like this with anything other than a phone. However, I've been using flimsy basic tripods for the last 20+ years, so I am not too worried for my uses.

Trying to book a train from Basel to London. Currently, I am using the eurail site to see the times and train companies associated with the trip.

• First train = Regional TER - Swiss Federal Railway
• Second train = TGV INOUI - SNCF Voyages
• Third train = Eurostar - Eurostar International

Would it be correct or better to book the required seat reservations on the website of each train line?

• Swiss federal railway - sbb.ch
• SNCF - sncf-connect.com
• Eurostar - Eurostar.com or b-europe.com?

I've read that the timing of the train arrival/departures may not be as accurate or correct on the eurail site. If there is a train delay on any leg of my trip, I am guessing I would have to rebook another train myself?

Edit - I noticed when looking at the train times directly and that on Eurail, it will have a 1-2 hour buffer from the arrival train time to the transfer departing train time.

Example 1 - Arrive at Paris Est @ 14:30 - Depart Paris Nord @ 16:00 when looking at the eurail site, but when looking at the b-europe site, I see that there is an earlier similar train departing at 17:00. Is it reasonable to think I can make this transfer time or is there good reason why Eurail would default to give a larger buffer time in case of delays, etc?

Example 2 - Arrive at Paris Gare De Lyon @ 17:30 - Depart Paris Nord @ 18:00. Same situation above. I am assuming 30 minutes is probably too close of a time frame to do this transfer between these two stations.

Coming from the US and will be in Porto for a handful of days. I am personally more of a port wine drinker than regular wine, so I am very excited to be in the area, even though I am still new to port/wine in general.

I don't plan on doing any tours and want to mainly stick to tastings.

From what I have read, it is nice to do tastings at some of the bigger port houses (IE Taylor, Fonesca, etc) but purchasing bottles there may actually not be the cheapest and slightly inflated. Is this true? Am I better off buying bottles at a shop somewhere else? I am sure this will partially depend on the exact bottle and availability.

Would also love to hear any suggestions on what Ports to look out for that would be worthwhile buying to bring back with me. Not looking for bottles that I can find in the states and hoping more for bottles that are either very expensive to buy in the states vs porto or not possible to get in the states.

This is a list of places I've seen mentioned to check out while in Porto.

Vasquez do Carvalho	Lado Wines - Porto & Douro Wine bar
Caves Cálem	Gran Cruz
Quinta do Noval - Tasting	Emotivo
Ramos Pinto
Vasquez do Carvalho
Niepoort tasting center
Sandeman
Ramos Pinto
Lagrima Das Damas
Grahams
WOW Porto - The Cultural District
Taylor - Garden
Quevedo
Taylor-Fladgate